GTA 5 Introduction

Developer:
Rockstar North
Publisher:
Rockstar Games (Parent Company: Take-Two Interactive)
Platforms:
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Multiplayer:
Has been confirmed; details to be announced.
Website:
www.rockstargames.com/V
Release Date:
September 17, 2013
Rating:
Rating Pending (ESRB)

Rockstar's latest installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, Grand Theft Auto V, heads to the city of Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside and beaches. Set in the present day, money is a major theme in GTA V, with the debut trailer emphasizing the stark contrast between poverty and luxury. The game will release worldwide on Tuesday September 17th, 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The Unveiling of GTA V

Michael, one of the three protagonists

Grand Theft Auto V was announced by Rockstar Games on October 25, 2011, a few days after the tenth anniversary of Grand Theft Auto III. Every web page on Rockstar's network (even the old Vice City and San Andreas pages from 2002-2004) was replaced with a GTAV logo and a release date for the game's first trailer. The page also promoted the Twitter hashtag #GTAV.
The one-and-a-half-minute-long trailer revealed that the game is set in the city of Los Santos - Rockstar's take on Los Angeles, California. Soon after, Grand Theft Auto V was officially announced in a Take-Two Interactive press statement. In the statement, Rockstar confirmed that "Grand Theft Auto V heads to the city of Los Santos and surrounding hills, countryside and beaches in the largest and most ambitious game Rockstar has yet created." Rockstar also asserted that GTA V is "a bold new direction in open-world freedom, storytelling, mission-based gameplay and online multiplayer [..] focusing on the pursuit of the almighty dollar in a re-imagined, present-day Southern California."

A Bold New Direction

Grand Theft Auto V is the first GTA since the original Grand Theft Auto where the player takes control of multiple characters. A unique switching system allows the player to switch between characters almost instantly and at any time when off-mission. A number of missions will involve all three protagonists allowing you to switch between them to play different parts of the mission. So you can be switching between a heliopter pilot, a sniper and the man on the ground meaning that you're always in the action.

Release Date

Initially, Grand Theft Auto V was scheduled for release in spring of 2013 (Beginning of March to the end of May). On January 31, 2013, Rockstar posted on the Newswire stating that the Grand Theft Auto V would no longer be scheduled for a spring 2013 release as the game "simply needs a little more polish to be of the standard we and, more importantly, you require." The new scheduled release date for Grand Theft Auto V is currently September 17, 2013 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Platforms

The new GTA is being developed for the current generation of consoles, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A PC version will likely be developed in addition to this, but may be released later. Grand Theft Auto was born on the PC in 1997, but in recent years Rockstar has focused more attention on the consoles. The PC versions of Grand Theft Auto typically arrive 8 months after the console versions.
The best thing about the PC versions is the capability they offer to modify in-game content, thereby enhancing the life spans of the games. Despite being released nearly a decade ago, the PC version of GTA: San Andreas remains immensely popular due to the fan-created car mods, weapons mods, multiplayer and mission mods. Hopefully this continues with GTAV.

Features

A summary of new features is listed below:

• You can flip off other characters in the game, and see interesting results dependent on who you're flipping off.
• Vehicle physics have been updated. "The cars hold to the ground a bit better". It now feels more like a racing game, compared to GTA IV where they felt "big and boatlike".
• After a hiatus in GTAIV, Ammu-Nation is back!
• A lot of new side activities, including yoga, jet sking, base-jumping, tennis and golfing on a full golf course!
• Rockstar felt that dating wouldn't fit in this game and have stripped this feature.
• Bowling, Strip Clubs, Live comedy, Internet cafes and in-game TV make a return.
• Mobile phone will return, but friends won't be calling as often as they did in GTAIV. It will be more streamlined and used for things like emails and Internet browsing.
• Random character encounters throughout the map, much akin to those in GTAIV - but this time there's a greater variety and they're fully motion captured.
• Dynamic missions, similar to Red Dead's "Random World Events" make a return. Examples include characters with broken down cars, a hitch hiker, or two parked cars with dead bodies around them - which you can investigate to initiate dynamic missions.
• Dynamic "state machines" were coded in the game, allowing non-playable characters to go about their daily lifes. For example, you may see gardeners and cleaners waiting at the bus stop in the morning, and then find them tending the gardens and houses in the game's fictional Beverly Hills later on in the day.
• Side-missions similar to Taxi, Ambulance and Vigilante will be back but "probably not identical to the ones in previous GTAs" because they wouldn't fit in with the 3 main character personalities, but the "three will have odd jobs to do".
• Mission types will vary among "big and small events , explosive, infiltration, super spectacular, family, invasion, hostage recovery, heists and robberies. Plus classic GTA missions but updated and improved."
• Cover mechanics have been greatly improved and cover will be very important in the gameplay.
• About the economy, Dan Houser says: "You will be able to spend money to buy interesting and fun things like expensive toys. We are still working on the economy but it will be a strong element in the game and players will be eager to make money to spend money. Something along the lines of "I went through all of this to make all this money and now I'm going to spend it on this crazy item."
• Dynamic music during missions (similar to games like L.A. Noire)
• No co-op for single player missions, but co-op modes will be featured in multiplayer.
• Big focus on multiplayer with a lot of content to keep players busy.
• The song Radar Love was heard playing on the in-game radio.
• Alamo Sea is the name of the Salton Sea like area.
• Radial menu to select the 3 protagonists.
• Switching in missions partially scripted - meaning, at times character switching will happen automatically.
• In final part of a mission in the demo, the player can decide which character to use.
• There are multiple different endings in the storyline which depend on the choices you made throughout the game.
• Map open from beginning, with the exception of some protected areas.
• A certain amount of money will be needed to gain access to some missions.
• There is a functioning ecosystem teeming with wildlife.

The Grand Theft Auto Series

Grand Theft Auto V is the fourteenth game in the series and, if it can replicate the success of its predecessors, there should be many more to come in future. The GTA series began in 1997, at which time its developer, Rockstar North, was known as DMA Design. The table below lists all of the Grand Theft Auto releases to date.

Title	Setting	Release Date
Grand Theft Auto	Liberty City, San Andreas, Vice City	October 1997
Grand Theft Auto: London 1969	London (1969)	April 1999
Grand Theft Auto 2	Futuristic	October 1999
Grand Theft Auto III	Liberty City (2001)	October 2001
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	Vice City (1986)	October 2002
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	San Andreas (1990-1992)	October 2004
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories	Liberty City (1998)	October 2005
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories	Vice City (1984)	October 2006
Grand Theft Auto IV	Liberty City (2008-2010)	April 2008
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars	Liberty City (2009)	March 2009
Grand Theft Auto V	Los Santos (Present Day)	September 17, 2013

Grand Theft Auto V Timeline

Key events surrounding GTA V are displayed in the timeline below. Hover over points to see a description of the event.

Key events surrounding GTA V are displayed in the timeline below. Hover over points to see a description of the event.

• November 2012
• The second GTA V trailer is released (14 Nov)
• The first GTAV preview is published by Game Informer (8 Nov)
• October 2012
• Rockstar reveal that Grand Theft Auto V will be released in Spring 2013 (30 Oct)
• Rockstar Games release the first official artwork for GTAV, entitled "Pest Control" (24 Oct)
• August 2012
• A week of screenshot releases gives us a look at "Transport", "Leisure" and "Business" (20-25 Aug)
• July 2012
• Rockstar release the first two official screenshots in an Asked & Answered on the Newswire (12 Jul)
• November 2011
• The first GTA V trailer is released! (2 Nov)
• October 2011
• Grand Theft Auto V is officially announced! All web pages on Rockstar's server are replaced with a GTA V logo and a date for the first official trailer release. The date for the trailer is 2 November, 2011 (25 Oct)